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Progress report for NCSD18-001

South Dakota Annual State Report

NCSD17-001 (project overview)
Project Type: PDP State Program
Projected End Date: 12/31/2018
Grant Recipient: South Dakota State University
Region: North Central
State: South Dakota
State Coordinator:
Dr. Alexander Smart
Email
South Dakota State University
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Project Information

Abstract:

South Dakota is a rural state with a population of about 860,000 people (US Census 2016). The unemployment rate in SD was 2.7% in June 2016, which is the lowest in the nation (SD Bureau of Finance and Management 2016). Agriculture is South Dakota’s number one industry with over $25 billion dollars in generated revenue contributing to 20% of state’s economy and employing 15% of the population in agriculture production and related fields in 2012 (South Dakota Department of Agriculture 2014). South Dakota’s beef industry is the main driver of the livestock economy, with 1.69 million beef cows in the state, it ranks 7th in the nation (USDA-NASS 2016). Pasture and rangeland account for half of the land use with the remaining used for crop production. The major crops are corn, soybeans, wheat, all hay, sunflower, oats, and sorghum (USDA-NASS 2016). Conventional agriculture tends to dominate the state with only a small minority of producers that are involved with alternative, sustainable, or organic agricultural practices. There are very few non-governmental agencies (NGOs) working on sustainable agriculture issues in the state. 

South Dakota State University (SDSU) is the Land Grant institution with missions in research, teaching, and extension. SDSU Extension has seven regional hubs strategically located across the state where 46 field specialists with specific duties in generally one discipline reside (iGrow 2016). Extension’s core focus areas are: 4-H & youth, livestock, agronomy, healthy families, community development, and gardens. Extension mirrors the agricultural climate in South Dakota, however, local foods, community development and soil health are gaining traction. South Dakota SARE has been coordinated by Dr. Alexander (Sandy) Smart, a rangeland ecologist, in the Department of Natural Resources, since January 2015. Dr. Smart has spent considerable time rejuvenating the advisory board and increased activity to outreach professionals through travel scholarships and mini-grants.

Project Objectives:

Initiaitives for 2017-18 are:

  1. Soil health
  2. Livestock crop integration
  3. Local foods
  4. Building sustainable operations
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Education

Educational approach:

Guidelines-for-evaluating-travel-scholarships-and-mini-grants

What is sustainable agriculture? SARE defines sustainability using three key concepts: Profit over the long-term; Stewardship of our nation’s land, air, and water; and Quality of Life for farmers, ranchers, and their communities. This definition is similar to the concept of triple bottom-line economics: financial, environmental, and social. A business needs to be profitable, a good steward of its natural resources, and socially responsible.  Moving toward sustainability should be seen as a continual process and not viewed dogmatically as “either you are or aren’t”.

The goal of the South Dakota PDP SARE program is to provide professional development opportunities for outreach personnel in state, federal, and non-governmental agencies. Travel scholarships are designed to provide opportunities for outreach personnel to gain new ideas, skills, and networking relationships that will enhance their work toward delivering sustainable agriculture programming. Usually individuals will apply for a travel scholarship to attend a professional conference, workshop, or meeting. Mini-grants are designed to provide opportunities to train the trainers. Mini-grants typically deliver training at conferences, workshops, or meetings to outreach personnel and can include end users, but that’s not its main audience.

 

Educational & Outreach Activities

10 Consultations
5 Minigrants
4 On-farm demonstrations
2 Published press articles, newsletters
1 Study circle/focus groups
4 Tours
19 Travel Scholarships
5 Workshop field days

Participation Summary

15 Extension
10 NRCS
5 Researchers
5 Nonprofit
10 Ag service providers (other or unspecified)
100 Farmers/ranchers

Learning Outcomes

300 Participants gained or increased knowledge, skills and/or attitudes about sustainable agriculture topics, practices, strategies, approaches
25 Ag professionals intend to use knowledge, attititudes, skills and/or awareness learned

Project Outcomes

5 Agricultural service provider participants who used knowledge and skills learned through this project (or incorporated project materials) in their educational activities, services, information products and/or tools for farmers

Face of SARE

Face of SARE:

The goal of the “Face of SARE” program in South Dakota is to increase visibility of SARE projects and opportunities for farmers and ranchers in the state, and to address their questions and needs regarding grant applications. The Face of SARE is promoted by Sandy Smart and Dave Ollila (co-coordinator) with specific duties of Face of SARE. Dave will attend various workshops and other producer gatherings, setting up a booth and promoting the SARE program. Dave plans to attend multiple soil health/cover crop workshops, NPSAS Winter Conference, livestock meetings, and Specialty Producers meetings. We will continue to sponsor events such as; Northern Plains Sustainable Ag Society’s conference in Aberdeen, the organic IPM school held at Beresford and other producer oriented educational programs held in South Dakota. In addition, we will take advantage of any Advisory Board member attending producer meetings to set up the Face of SARE display and “man” the both whenever possible.  

We continue to offer information for travel scholarships and mini-grants through our SARE web page in order to increase the profile of this support to interested educators/extension personnel. We intend to continue to promote this among educators, and help support useful workshops which will increase our visibility among both educators and producers.

500 Farmers received information about SARE grant programs and information resources
100 Ag professionals received information about SARE grant programs and information resources
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Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or SARE.

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